YNS Double Feature: The 2018 Agenda and A Twitter Battle

When Trump boarded Air Force One from his Mar-A-Lago resort back to Washington on Monday, correspondents were told domestic policy with a focus on infrastructure and immigration would be at the top of the administration’s agenda. Media outlets have been mumbling the idea of how bipartisanship on domestic policy can work in a midterm election year. The Republican Party needs as much as they campaign on to hold their seats. There is concern over a ‘blue wave’, or a surge in Democratic support that will ruin Republican majority and sidetrack the agenda.

Unless the Republican’s pull through infrastructure and increased immigration safety, the victories are slim. The only route for a conservative candidate to take if both bills fail is to separate themselves from the President. This idea of distancing away from Trump generally applies only to toss-up and competitive states, others are expected to go red as usual (states like Oklahoma and Mississippi). With the scenario presented, it would not be impossible for a Democrat to fill a seat in a district or state up for grabs. The American people all have similar interests, one being the economy. If they notice that they have been worse off financially since the administration has started, then some will seek help from Democrats.

In addition, several Congress people are retiring; most notably Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT). His retirement opens the door for Mitt Romney to run for Hatch’s seat. Romney, the 2012 Republican Presidential nominee and former Governor of Massachusetts, has been mulling a Senate run and would be a major critic of the President if elected. In Minnesota, Michelle Bachmann is looking towards religion to see if she should campaign for the Senate seat that was held by Al Franken, who resigned due to misconduct. It is unclear if Acting Senator Tina Smith will run for the position as well.

2018 has the potential to define Donald Trump’s presidency. He has major legislation on the agenda that needs to pass and midterms that he needs to campaign for. If the Republicans do not keep a majority, it will be a tough road ahead going into the 2020 Presidential election.

A Twitter Battle

Twitter is quite an interesting place. As millions of people put their thoughts into 140 (now 280) characters. It is not uncommon for political commentators or celebrities to find themselves in character combat. My experience in a Twitter battle was unpredictable and unintentional.

It all started when Joy Reid, host of MSNBC’s ‘AM Joy’, tweeted a poll asking if both parties should work together on an infrastructure bill. The first comment I saw gave a resounding “NO!” I was stunned by the closed-mindedness of this person, thinking that the GOP would make the bill corrupt. Then, I decided to comment “we need to consider the needs of the people”, and put politics aside. All my tweets chartered a negative response, especially when mentioning how Democratic legislation has not helped with infrastructure in the State of California (think: Gas Tax and its cost on the citizens).

As more people began to show their characters, I asked two users how they would handle infrastructure policy. The question was dodged, and both said they would leave it up to the states. Then things became personal. People called me “Kiddo”, “troll”, and when I made a small typo that “education has failed [me].” One user also was convinced I was a bot! Many characters did not use their real names or pictures of themselves.

I learned a great deal from this experience. First would be to stay polite when others are rude to you online, it only strengthens your point and prevents you from taking cheap shots at people. Also, do not respond to every comment, otherwise it is impossible to survive. In conclusion, I am thankful my first Twitter war is over.